Wer hat die Schneestiefel genommen

Kapitel 29

"Please have a seat. By the way, would you like something to drink?" He led her to the small meeting room, maintaining his calm and composed work attitude.

But Minako felt uneasy and anxious about all of this, and even a faint trace of envy for her who had the sky. She smiled awkwardly, wanting to put aside her composure and breathe in the air that Hideki-nii-san had once breathed.

"Coffee, thank you."

While she was gone, Minako got up and looked around, feeling a quiet unease about the unfamiliar yet cozy furnishings. Her older brother, Hideki, used to be a cold and stern man who disliked any soft furnishings, especially those within his domain. But all of this felt strangely unfamiliar.

Has his fighting spirit and toughness been completely worn away by time? Will he still be able to adapt to the ruthlessness of the Takahashi family?

As she was anxiously lost in thought, with a very slight click, someone stepped into the elevator. She looked up excitedly and, seeing it was indeed him, immediately ran to greet him, but unexpectedly—

"Drinking coffee first thing in the morning is bad for your health."

As if afraid that a moment's hesitation would lead to a murder, he rushed into the tea room like an arrow, pulled the stunned Fengzi into his arms, and then turned off the coffee machine, extremely nervous.

Coming to her senses, she habitually gave him a flick on the forehead, then paused, startled by her own action. She then broke free of his embrace, about to speak, but Fang Weiyang was already yelling.

"Xiao Zi, how could you hit her again? She was doing it for your and the baby's own good!"

Instead of the radiant smile he expected, she merely glanced outside and calmly said, "We have a guest visiting, Vice President."

Following her gaze, Fang Weiyang's smiling face instantly turned cold. He turned around, turned on the coffee maker, gave her a deep look, and instructed, "Bring the coffee to my office." Then he turned to greet Minako, who looked surprised and puzzled.

"You're lying!" Feng Zi suddenly wanted to shout at him!

How could there be such deep trust in his eyes when he looked at her? It's a lie, all a lie. She doesn't believe it, she doesn't believe it, she no longer believes it.

But why was her heart beating faster and faster, and why did a strange expectation even arise in her mind, a desire for her to believe him?

What should she do? What should she do?

Staring blankly at the coffee pot, a series of blurry, tender scenes flashed through my mind, each one saying, "I love him..."

※※※

"I didn't expect you to still be here. Jiro, did you go back to Japan?"

With his hands in his pockets, Fang Weiyang lifted a corner of the blinds, looking down at the bustling crowds below. Suddenly, he felt weary and impatient with it all, wanting nothing more than to be by his wife's side, to hear her energetic shouts and screams, or to snuggle in his arms like a docile kitten, filling the void in his heart.

“Shu…” Minako swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She couldn’t help but compare his enthusiasm and energy just a few dozen seconds ago with his coldness and aloofness now. She couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She originally thought that as long as she loved him, that would be enough, because Hideki-nii-san didn’t know how to love.

Who knew that he wasn't incapable of loving, but simply didn't love her, and she... turned out to be a greedy person, seeking nothing more than a sliver of his tenderness.

“There’s a problem with the company, and my father wants him to go back and handle it.”

question?

What kind of problem was so troublesome for "him" that he urgently recalled his brother who was originally dealing with him? Or... did Pei and the others finally make their move?

"Brother Xiushu..." Seeing him lost in thought, she felt a sudden, inexplicable panic, as if he were growing ever more distant from her. If she didn't call him back, she would never be able to touch him again.

He quickly regained his composure, a fleeting look of aloofness crossing his face before he smiled gently, masking his wariness of strangers.

"Stop calling that name. I am Fang Weiyang now. Hideki Takahashi died ten years ago."

Dead? Then who was the man she had been thinking about and loving so deeply for the past ten years?

"Xiu...Weiyang...brother, in these ten years, have you...ever...thought...about to come back...to see me!"

Fang Weiyang sensed a hint of unease in her hesitant attempt to change her words. He turned to look into her eyes and saw a pitiful, brimming tear in her beautiful, helpless eyes. He fell silent.

He once pitied her, but when did that pity begin to fade? Was it her submissiveness that made him resentful, or was it because she belonged to a past he desperately wanted to discard? He couldn't tell anymore, he just felt powerless.

"Knock, knock."

The sudden knock on the door pulled him back from his self-loathing thoughts. He looked up and saw Feng Zi carrying two cups of coffee. Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his chest. Before he realized what he was doing, he was already standing in front of her and taking the tray from her.

"Careful, it's hot!" he said casually.

Is it hot?

No, it was her who got burned! Minako clutched her clothes in disbelief, feeling as if a hole had been dug in her heart, the pain making her... jealous, jealous that the pampering that should have belonged to her and Ruri had been given to a woman who was an outsider.

"Brother Xiushu!" she cried out uncontrollably.

“Huh, she calls you brother, so she must be…” Suspicious glances swept between the two of them, but Feng Zi finally settled her gaze on the sorrowful Minako in astonishment.

"My sister! She's my sister!"

He was grateful that her words had come true, allowing him to so easily ascertain Minako's place in his heart. It turned out she had always been just a younger sister, merely his younger sister.

"Sister?" But her sadness didn't seem like that of a sister! Fengzi's eyes widened.

"Sister?" After she loved him for twenty years and gave birth to Liuli for him?

"Brother Hideki, how could you be so cruel!" she cried out in anguish.

"And what about you, Minako! Why do you never ask me what I want, what Jiro wants?" He grabbed Fengzi, who was trying to leave, and pleaded with his eyes for her to stay. Only after she silently gave in did he continue.

"And you, what do you truly want?"

"I...I want you...I want you..."

"Aren't you tired of being 'his' puppet for nearly twenty years?" Gently releasing Feng Zi's hand, he walked to Minako in her trusting gaze and lightly touched her trembling shoulder.

"Haven't you noticed yet? You always unconsciously call me Hideki-nii (older brother), but only call Jiro by his name. In your heart, you've always considered me your older brother, haven't you? Jiro is the one you truly want to love."

"No, no... no, I love you, I love you, Hideki-nii, the person I've always loved is you! You forgot, we still have Ruri, she's our daughter... our..." She shook her head frantically, her pretty face pale with shock.